Bluebeard

About a month ago, I was waiting for The Book Nook to open. It is located in Spring Hill College's Burke Library on the ground floor. While waiting I decided to browse the library's periodical section. I came across a magazine called Cineaste, which drew my attention because of an article on a new film adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. The film was being produced by Catherine Breillat, a French filmmaker and writer. The article went on to say that she had also produced another one of Charles Perrault's tales into a film, La Barbe bleue or Bluebeard.

When I got home, I looked up the Sleeping Beauty film and realized that it wouldn't be released until November of this year. Bluebeard however was already on DVD. It can go anywhere from $20-$30 depending on where you buy it. Luckily, I found a copy on eBay for $14.

My copy came in the mail yesterday and I watched it after finishing The Secret of Moonacre. The film stars Dominique Thomas as Bluebeard, Lola Creton as Marie-Catherine, Daphne Baiwir as Marie-Catherine's sister Anne, Marilou Lopes-Benites as Catherine in the 1950s, and Lola Giovannetti as Marie-Anne in the 1950s.

The story starts in the 1600s with Marie-Catherine and Anne at a private college at a nunnery. They learn from the Mother Superior that their father has died while trying to save a child from being hit from a carriage. He has left the family in debt, which means that they can no longer stay at the college.

The girls arrive home to attend their father's funeral. Afterwards, debt collectors come and take away a good portion of the household furniture as collateral for their father's unpaid debts.


1950s, Catherine and Marie-Anne

In 1950s France, two sisters are reading the story of Bluebeard in a copy of Charles Perrault's fairy tales. Like the original tale where the young wife is told not to enter a forbidden room in the castle, the two girls have been told by their mother not to enter the room where they are reading the storybook.

The film switches between both time periods throughout the story. It ends with the death of Marie-Anne in the 1950s and with Marie-Catherine sitting at a table with her husband's head on a platter in the 1600s.

The story of Bluebeard has only been adapted to film maybe a handful of times with the earliest example in 1902. I found Breillat’s adaptation to be hauntingly beautiful. I particularly liked the scenes of Bluebeard and his wife spending time together as they are not in the original fairy tale. You can feel the connection between the two characters and it definitely makes the betrayal of the key even more poignant in the film.


Marie-Catherine and Bluebeard watching an eclipse

While I found the film to be a great adaptation of the film, I felt that the young girls reading the story in the 1950s to be unnecessary. Yes, the writer illustrated the moral of the story in both time periods, but I think the original fairy tale could have stood on its own as it was filmed quite well.

My other complaint about the film was the costume design. The costumes seemed to be quite bland in parts with very little character to them and in some cases historically inaccurate for the time period. As a wife to a lord with an extensive estate and a large amount of wealth, I was expecting the costumes to be elaborate in keeping with the style of the time. But to be fair, if you take into account Breillat’s style in this film, the interaction between the characters is the driving force behind the story.

I have one warning to readers of my blog about this film if you decide to watch it. There is a scene in the film where Marie-Catherine is watching a servant kill a goose for a party that Bluebeard is hosting to find a bride. It is quite graphic and while it is an interesting way to foreshadow the end of the film, you might want to hit the ‘fast forward’ button at that point of the film.

Otherwise, I definitely recommend this film for fairy tale, period drama, or French film enthusiasts. I look forward to seeing Breillat's version of Sleeping Beauty in November.

Until next time ^____^